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Just wondered what everyone's top tips for cutting down your food bill are?

Frustrated with the lack of space in my freezer, I set myself a challenge for the month of August - I didn't allow myself to buy any food for the entire month (except milk) to force me to use up what I had in the cupboard/ freezer. Led to some pretty interesting meals (personal fave was a satay fakeaway made with peanut butter), but I realised that as a result I must have saved well over £100(!) over the course of the month, which I was then able to put towards debt repayment.

It's spurred me on to try and keep my food bill as low as possible (a small step to being debt-free by this time next year if I can keep to my current schedule) and thus I was wondering what other people do to keep their food bill down (besides the obvious of buying from the value range)?

TIA,
Lauren

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

For fromage frais I buy Quark low fat cheese and add a teaspoon of jam to flavour. You can buy for less than a quid for 500g
Make your own bread, easy, healthier (much less salt).
Frozen sweetcorn instead of tinned.
One chicken jointed is at least third less than joints, go to YouTube for step by step vids on how to do it.
However, be sure not compromise on health - check your cheaper foods don't have more salt and sugar and even Lidl is now doing organic eggs and milk.
Pearl barley is fab in stews and bulks it up, also has same cholesterol reducing qualities as oats.
Cous cous is cheap, quick to prepare, use to accompany foods instead of rice.
For dessert try semolina pudding, you can make in the microwave or on stove top.
Make your own yoghurt. Can do it in the oven or buy a maker. It will pay for itself within months.
Shop seasonal veg, I am growing my own when I get the patch dug over!

When you have a spare half an hour, go through all your cook books/recipes & make a list of tasty easy recipes which are incedibly cheap to make. Feel secure in the knowledge that you can call.on these to cut your weekly food spend when you need a really tight month.

Meal plan properly......not just a list of meals but a list of meals where you already have most of the ingredients in stock.

Grow some food. We are still eating home grown beans, courgettes, tomatoes, chillies, peppers, potatoes, pears, apples, rocket & basil. We still have sweetcorn, squash & cabbages to come.....all from our garden, no allotment.

Your freezer needs to become your best money saving friend. Don't throw anything away which can be frozen. i.e if carrots are starting to go bendy & are not due to be eaten, prep them, blanch & freeze. In the last month, I have only binned a 5cm piece of cucumber which had gone mouldy.

If you have a good ID book, make the most of foraging..Blackberries, wild plums, sloes, elderberries, rosehips, sorrel, young nettletops, sweet chestnuts, crabapples are often there for the taking.

Batch cook. Freeze it in.portion sizes.

Make the most of cheap cuts of meat. Things like ham hock, beef cheek, beef shin, stewing lamb, etc, are fab done in the slow cooker.

Go for the best 'rubber chicken' (whete you stretch it into loads of meals) you can. There are 2 of us. I can get 4 days of meals from 1 chicken plus soup/stock & occasionally a sandwich too.

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